Youth Action Alliance

Who we are

In 1992, a group of Wornington Green Estate (North Kensington) residents set up a detached project to work with young people, aged 11 – 19 (or up to 25 with Lifelong Learning Difficulties and Disabilities) living on the estate and in surrounding areas. The project, initially known as the Wornington Green Detached Youth Project, registered as a charity in June 2001, and as our detached remit grew, changed to Youth Action Alliance in 2011. 

YAA’s mission is to combat social exclusion and develop knowledge, self-esteem and confidence in young people and their communities in order for them to move from dependence to interdependence. Our vision is to support the personal and social development (values, beliefs, ideas and skills) of the young people living in North Kensington and across London, enabling them to increase their resilience and skills in the present, and promote their ambitions for the future.

We believe in empowering young people to challenge the social, economic and political marginalisation that they may face. We do this by providing a programme of challenging and educational activities (determined by young people), increasing their knowledge, self-esteem, confidence and overall well-being. We work across North Kensington and more recently Brent, to deliver street-based and project work for young people. Our work consists of three strands: 

• Serious youth violence, and employability and enterprise work 
• Targeted group work - engaging with young people who choose not to access location-based services for 11- 19 years (or up to 25 with LLDD)
• Holiday play provision 

Our culture and values

• Youth led – young people are always at the forefront of our work, have a voice and are actively involved in the development of our programmes.

• Collaborative – work with relevant external partners and volunteers to add value to our projects and maximise the opportunities that collaboration provides. 

• High quality - provide dedicated, effective and high standard of youth work in a variety of ways and settings and acquire recognition.

• Unique - provide diversity and innovation in our programme of activities and their form of delivery.

• Cohesion - our work is dedicated and embedded in the local community to cultivate positive relationships and trust.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Our mission is to support all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential and make positive life choices by engaging in fun and innovative youth activities to move from dependence to interdependence. We aim to ensure all equality, diversity and inclusion are key elements integrated across all our projects and organisation overall.